FFGhost

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Posts by FFGhost

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  10

  Alan F

  by scholar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have received news of the passing of alan fuerbacher today having just turned 70 years of age.

  alan was an earlier and frequent poster on this forum and was a strident critic of wt bible chronology.

  i enjoyed the continuous debate on matters relating to 607 bce and will miss his intellectual contributions and his scholarship even though i disagreed with much of his contributions on this subject.

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  FFGhost

  Here is the original post:

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4819114332782592/some-sad-news
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  9

  Announcemt regarding meeting attendance.

  by pistolpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm sick, i can't attend meetings.

  https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/tk715p/march_19_announcements_if_you_want_to_get_out_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3.

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  FFGhost

  Oh, here's another puzzle:

  The "Health Notice" is supposed to be posted at the Kingdom Hall.

  Wouldn't that mean it is.....drum roll.....in writing?

  So....

  Why are group overseers only supposed to share it "orally" prior to anyone going to the Kingdom Hall?

  The inconsistency is remarkable. Unless, of course, the entire point of the "Health Notice" has nothing to do with "health" and everything to do with "hey, Mr. Unbelieving Mate, don't even think about a wrongful death lawsuit because your JW wife went the KH and got COVID and died".
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  9

  Announcemt regarding meeting attendance.

  by pistolpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm sick, i can't attend meetings.

  https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/tk715p/march_19_announcements_if_you_want_to_get_out_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3.

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  FFGhost

  Yeah, that language in the "Health Notice" about "confirming" you haven't been "exposed to COVID 19 in the past 10 days"....

  Given how many people (vaxed and unvaxed) are asymptomatic carriers, it is completely impossible for anyone (unless living in a plastic bubble) to "confirm" what the statement says.

  This smacks of the legal department scrambling to catch up to the GB's reckless directive with a CYA statement.

  So, in the case my "superspreader" supposition really does prove true, and thousands (or 10's or 100s of thousands) of JWs get sick after attending the Memorial, no one can sue the congregation and/or the WTS because everyone there in person "confirmed" they were not recently exposed to COVID. The onus is on the individuals attending the event, not the sponsor of the event.

  It is simultaneously alarming and stomach-churning.
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  9

  Announcemt regarding meeting attendance.

  by pistolpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm sick, i can't attend meetings.

  https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/tk715p/march_19_announcements_if_you_want_to_get_out_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3.

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  FFGhost

  I particularly love paragraph 2:

  "OK, sure, your Kingdom Hall may not have sufficient sanitary standards yet, but go back there anyway."

  I'm tellin' ya, just as I posted earlier - the spread of the BA2 variant is still increasing - the "special" talk and Memorial will be superspreader events.

  As the Reddit comments point out - something weird going on. Two years of "we're going to be far far far far FAR more cautious than everyone else" and then suddenly BAM! Go back to your meetings in 2 weeks whether the Kingdom Hall is safe or not.
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  34

  Memorial invite

  by JoenB75 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  now they start inviting to their "commemorate the death of jesus" event.

  it always makes me a bit sad.

  i don’t think i could endure to watch it myself today.

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  FFGhost

  Everyone just has to touch the emblems like they have been poisoned and the emblems emit the antidote which is absorbed through the skin.

  LOL.

  The best part is after the attendants have passed them to everyone. Then, despite having touched the plate & glass literally dozens of times each, it is absolutely essential that all the attendants minus one sit down, and one of the attendants "serves" them so they can all touch it. Then the attendant-attendant has to sit down, and an attendant-attendant-attendant has to stand up and "serve" him.

  Oh, then then someone has to "serve" the speaker, in which he awkwardly hunches over from the platform to touch the plate / glass...or does he actually hold for a moment? The suspense just killed me every year.

  It's an elaborate ballet of moronity.
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  44

  Miniimizing 'Punishment' - marrying a non-JW

  by doasthouwilt in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  i’d like to marry my best friend of 30+ years, turned ‘secret’ girlfriend of 1 ½ years who is a jehovah’s witness, born into it, baptized and an active ‘pioneer’.

  our marriage would happen prior to letting any of her jw friends and cohorts know that we are together.

  once married she may simply come forward and ‘admit’ or we may wait until it’s found out – one way or the other, the reason for this marriage is not customary – i am hoping that by doing so she can avoid being ‘marked’ or possibly ‘disfellowshipped’ once our relationship is no longer a secret and due to our already being married at that point, there can be no notion from society elders about her ending the relationship.

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  FFGhost

  if it's simply the case of dear friends who love each other undeniably, eloped and were quickly married - wouldn't disfellowshipping be way overboard?

  yes we 'fornicate' wonderfully and often

  Missed this earlier.

  One of the primary guiding factors to life in JW-world:

  Any JW can be disfellowshipped at any time for any reason 3 JW elders agree upon.

  That's not hyperbole.

  If / when the JW elders find out you were "fornicating wonderfully and often" prior to marriage, she almost certainly will be disfellowshipped. JWs are disfellowshipped for failing to "demonstrate repentance" for what are deemed "serious sins" (and that most certainly fits the description). Doing it often, and not immediately confessing, will almost certainly be seen as "not repentant" *. That, and the elders will want to make an "example" of her to discourage other JW women from seeking non-JW mates.

  Even if she never confesses and is never found out, she will be "informally shunned" as I wrote in my earlier post.

  There is a 99.999% chance her life as a JW will effectively be over if she marries you.

  Again, if she's fine with that, more power to you. But the loving thing to do on your part is to make sure she is making an informed decision.

  * A note on the JW view of "repentance": JW elders are trained not to just accept the words "I repent" as evidence of repentance. You can swear up and down and back and forth and sob uncontrollably about how sorry you are- doesn't matter, JW elders are trained to not "fall" for that. They will look at the person's "life course" - in other words, does he / she demonstrate repentance by their actions? That's what I mean when I say they elders will almost certainly deem her "unrepentant".
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  44

  Miniimizing 'Punishment' - marrying a non-JW

  by doasthouwilt in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  i’d like to marry my best friend of 30+ years, turned ‘secret’ girlfriend of 1 ½ years who is a jehovah’s witness, born into it, baptized and an active ‘pioneer’.

  our marriage would happen prior to letting any of her jw friends and cohorts know that we are together.

  once married she may simply come forward and ‘admit’ or we may wait until it’s found out – one way or the other, the reason for this marriage is not customary – i am hoping that by doing so she can avoid being ‘marked’ or possibly ‘disfellowshipped’ once our relationship is no longer a secret and due to our already being married at that point, there can be no notion from society elders about her ending the relationship.

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  FFGhost

  what sort of ‘punishment’ she may expect once our marriage is public to all and input on what society elders can and cannot do over willful marriage of a baptized JW to an ardent disbeliever.

  Nothing overt - no announcement that she is disfellowshipped (excommunicated) or anything like that.

  BUT

  She will be completely and utterly marginalized socially, particularly if you don't show any inclination to start "studying" with JWs (with the goal of converting you).

  It will be "bad enough" once folks find out she married an "unbeliever", but once they find out that you also have no intention of ever being a JW, she will be "informally shunned". She will be viewed as "bad association" and never ever ever EVER get any social interaction with any JW outside of the Kingdom Hall. No invitations to anything, if you guys invite anyone (well nearly anyone) over to your place they will refuse.

  I don't know how important it is for her to remain a JW, but it will be a very unpleasant experience for her if it still means anything to her. She will feel disfellowshipped although technically not.

  Please think carefully about what you are doing, and talk to her about what to expect. Show her this thread. Do as you see best, just know that upon marrying you she will never again, or not for many decades, ever "fit in" with JWs socially.
  
  
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  34

  Memorial invite

  by JoenB75 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  now they start inviting to their "commemorate the death of jesus" event.

  it always makes me a bit sad.

  i don’t think i could endure to watch it myself today.

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  FFGhost

  The calling closed in 1935 except for replacements for the unfaithful partakers since then.

  Old light!

  Seriously, they changed this about 8-10 years ago. Now it's a case of "who are we to judge if someone says they are anointed"?

  There's still an informal pressure to not partake, and anyone who does partake is generally given a rolled-eye and a smirk behind their back, but the official teaching is now that Jehovah "may" still be calling new anointed.
  
  
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  21

  Was 536 the Worst year in history

  by pistolpete in

  1. social
  2. current

  jws believe that today, the time we live in is the worst time ever in history.

  i know cause i just had a jw tell me yesterday this was the case.

  he pointed to covid, the russian-ukraine war, the high gas prices and the food shortage happening.

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  FFGhost

  Every time someone talks about how things are "worse than ever" now, I invite them to take a peek at dental instruments in use up to about 100 years ago.

  And then remind them about how there was no novocaine.

  And then ask them, if they would get dental problems, which era would they prefer to live in?

  Yes, I know it's slightly silly, but it somehow "personalizes" the question of "are things now really now worse than ever before?"
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  20

  7 Letters Requested--Cost Of Living Survey!

  by Atlantis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  cost of living survey worksheet--(assembly hall servants & construction servants).

  cost of living survey worksheet--missionaries.

  cost of living survey worksheet--special pioneers.

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  FFGhost

  They send these out every year.

  In a previous congregation we had special pioneers, and they had to fill them out.

  The WTS wanted to see if the SPs could still survive on $Pittance / month, or if they needed to update the amount to $Pittance.25 / month.